The Warden's Office
by Upsgirl88
Summary: Daryl and Carol explore the prison. Includes memories of when Carol was missing and Daryl found her.


_I originally wrote this as my secret Santa gift. But I thought I would share it for the challenge:) It fills the prompts: Kiss and Fear. Enjoy! _

Carol shivered. "It still bothers me to see this place," she said softly. They were walking through the dark hallways of the prison, approaching the spot where Daryl found her, not far from where T-Dog died to save her life.

Daryl paused, "you didn't have to come," he said gently. "I could have done this alone, or brought Michonne, Bob, anyone else."

Carol shook her head. "I wanted to come. I've been down here before, I'll be fine. It just brings back the memories, ya know?" She pushed the bad stuff out of her mind for a moment and thought about how she felt when Daryl had opened that door and she looked up at him. She had been exhausted, dehydrated, almost delirious but she can remember seeing his face, looking into his eyes and knowing the one person she was going to miss most had just found her. She had been sure she was going to die and had long made her peace with it. She was too sick and tired to move and too terrified to open the door, even if she could have. Carol knew she wouldn't have been able to fight off any walkers that might have been there, so opening the door was only going to make her death quicker. But then he came and he found her. If this was a movie she got her knight in shining armour moment. The only thing missing was the kiss. She looked at Daryl, her white knight. He was scruffy, and dirty. His hair was a mess, jeans ripped, but he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Daryl knew exactly what she meant about the memories. Every time he passed that door where he found her he wondered, what if? What if I had got there too late? What if I hadn't opened that door? What if she had been bitten? He shook it off, she was fine. She was alive, healthy, and she was with him, on a run of sorts. It made him smile to think how tough Carol had become. She used to be the one you left behind to watch the kids, but now here she was by his side, knife strapped to her hip, gun tucked in her waistband, wearing one badass pair of boots and a cute smile when she looked at him. He still remembered the exact moment when he opened that door. His heart almost stopped beating, he thought she was dead. But when he touched her chin and she opened her eyes and looked at him Daryl had never been so relieved. He had carried her to safety and had to force himself to set her down and let Hershel look at her. Daryl wanted to just hold her and never let her go. Of course he would never admit that, he just hung back out of the way, but never for a second did he take his eyes off her until he knew for sure she was going to be fine. It seemed like such a long time ago now, but being there in that hallway brought all those feelings back.

The reason they were there in the first place was because Rick had decided that he wanted a map of the prison created. There had already been a few times they had found walkers in places they thought were secure and there was the time that Sasha and Tyreese's group had got in as well. He was also pretty sure there were parts of the prison they still hadn't explored that could contain useful items. Being the expert tracker and someone who paid great attention to detail Daryl had offered to go. Carol was quite good at drawing from memory and other's descriptions, so she figured between the two of them they could do a great job with the map.

They had already been to most other parts of the prison and Carol had the map 80% complete. It was no coincidence they had both decided to leave this area for last. Daryl had considered going without her, but they had done the rest together and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He trusted her judgement and when she decided she would be fine, he believed her.

"I don't really need to pay much attention here," Carol said, "I won't ever forget this area."

"Me neither," Daryl agreed, passing the spot where he had sat on the floor, stabbing her knife into the concrete over and over. "Let's keep going."

They moved through the dark hallways into more unfamiliar areas. They paid attention to every twist and turn, pointing out certain things to each other to try and remember. Suddenly Daryl stopped, "I don't remember ever seeing that door before." He pushed it open and shone his flashlight down a long hallway. They had noticed from the map they had created that they were missing the offices of the Warden and other important administrators. "This has to be the area we keep missing," he said.

Daryl was correct. The hall was lined with offices from records, to meeting rooms, to the Deputy. At the very end there was a door that said Warden. It had a key pad but the door was left ajar. Daryl opened it and it led to a short flight of steps. He held the door for Carol and they headed up the stairs. There was another door at the top and when Carol opened it she gasped and shielded her eyes. After being in the dark for over an hour the sunlight was blinding. Once her eyes adjusted Carol looked around, she couldn't believe how beautiful the room was. In a place with few windows, the Warden's office was like walking into heaven. It wasn't like they couldn't go outside anytime they wanted, but windows were a special kind of treat living in a prison. It was a strange sensation to be indoors with such brightness surrounding them.

Daryl watched Carol's face as she wandered around the room. He had never seen her smile so brilliant and it made his heart skip a beat. She walked over to the main window which was floor to ceiling and pretty much an entire wall of the room, situated behind a huge mahogany desk. Carol put her hand against the glass and stared outside at the beautiful Georgia horizon. The sun was going down and there was a startlingly gorgeous sunset. In that moment, all Daryl could do was watch her. He didn't care about the view outside, he only cared about the woman standing at the window.

"Can we stay?" she asked, without turning around. "Can we just stay here and watch the sunset?" Daryl walked up behind her and took a seat on the desk. She turned to him, "I know the others might worry if we're not back, but it's just so beautiful here."

Carol noticed the way he was staring at her. He wasn't looking at anything but her and his stare raised goosebumps all over her body. They had never been intimate but some would call the look he was giving her eye sex and it felt incredible. She took a step closer so she was standing between his legs, dangerously close, and neither of them broke eye contact. Carol knew what a special place they had just found amidst all the darkness and they had found it together. It was fitting that this place should hold even more meaning for the two of them, and Carol knew it would when she leaned in and kissed him.

Carol's kiss was light and tentative at first. She wasn't sure how Daryl would react. But when she realized he wasn't going to pull away she took it deeper. She felt his hands settle lightly on her hips urging her to continue.

Daryl liked that she had taken control in a way he probably couldn't have. He loved the feel of her lips and the taste of her when their tongues met. His hands were on her hips but he needed to touch her skin so Daryl slipped them under the back of her shirt resting them gently on the small of her back.

Moments later Carol broke away reluctantly then pressed her lips back to his one last time, letting them linger, making sure she would remember exactly how they felt. She gave Daryl a smile, "that was definitely worth the wait." He didn't reply, but he returned the smile, letting her know he agreed.

Carol took a seat beside him on the desk and they watched the sun set in silence. When it was over Daryl nudged her, "better get back."

"Thank you," Carol said, standing up.

"For what?" Daryl needed clarification.

"For finding me. For saving me. I don't think I ever actually thanked you." She surprised him with a hug. "All this time and I never said thank you."

"You didn't have to," he replied, returning the hug. "I needed to find you as much as you needed to be found."

His words were profound and Carol couldn't think of anything else to say in reply. She led the way out of the office and back down the stairs.

It had been an incredible day. As they passed back through the hallways one again she thanked The Lord for bringing her this diamond in the rough she liked to affectionately call Pookie.

Daryl didn't thank The Lord, he thanked T-Dog. Daryl may have found Carol but he knew T-Dog saved her life. Daryl looked up. "Til we meet again Brother," he said silently. "Thank you for saving her so she can save me, every single day."


End file.
